Young Again
by Maeniel
Summary: As they say... watch what you wish for... Yahiko discovers it may actually come true.
1. Questions

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own 'em. Never have, never will. Excuse me while I run off into a corner to cry.

Notes: This was just a thought that popped into my head. Some characters may act somewhat out of character in parts. This is somewhat a piece of science fiction/fantasy, so that's okay, right? Uh... yeah. Anyway, I hope you all like.

Fitz

**Young Again**

**1. Questions**

            It was a never-ending battle. As a boy just eleven years in this world, these battles were more difficult for him than for a full-fledged adult. But this boy, Myojin Yahiko, would come out on top. He would defeat his enemies. Starting with the one in front of him.

            "Oi, busu! Don't call me chan!" Veins were throbbing in the young man's forehead. "Chan is for little girls and kids!"

            "But you are a kid, Yahiko-chan," Kaoru growled, veins popping forth in her own forehead. "And treat your assistant master with respect. You do not call your teacher ugly."

            "Tanuki! Busu tanuki!"

            "Grrrrrrr... Yahiko-_CHAN!!!!_" Kaoru leapt into action. Yahiko stuck his tongue out at her and bolted out into the yard. "Get back here!"

            "Ugly tanuki girl!" Yahiko shouted as he dodged around the laundry pail and ducked beneath the drying sheets.

            "Oro," Kenshin squinted against the wind caused by a boy running past him at full speed.

            "_Yahiko-chan!_" Kaoru screamed, jumping right _over_ the bucket.

            "_Oro!_" Kenshin ducked as the assistant master nearly ran into his head. Twisting around, he watched with amusement as Kaoru chased Yahiko around the dojo. 

            It was a typical day in the Kamiya household.

            "Oi! Yahiko, don't step on me!"

            That would be Sanosuke, making his appearance in time for lunch. Kaoru would then stop chasing Yahiko so that she could yell at Sanosuke for being a lazy freeloader. And Kenshin would then approach with the usual:

            "Maa, maa, don't fight, you two."

            Yahiko was off the hook. Snickering to himself, he continued on his path through the dojo and out the side door. Kaoru and Sanosuke were still yelling at each other, completely oblivious to the world around them. But when Yahiko looked at the strange trio at the back gate, he found that his escape was not going unnoticed. Kenshin stared right at him, his lips quirked up into a knowing smile. He knew better than to think he could fool the former hitokiri. However, Yahiko also knew that Kenshin would just watch him leave--and not give him away. Grinning and waving, Yahiko ducked out the gate.

            "Maa... you two," Yahiko heard the rurouni's voice through the now-closed gate. "I think Yahiko's gone."

            Perfect. Not only was he free for the day, but Kenshin had managed to point out the fact in such a manner that Kaoru's fury could only be directed toward her long-gone pupil.

            "Kenshin no baka!! Why did you wait so long to tell me?!" This was accompanied by the sound of a bokken meeting a skull.

            "Orooooo..."

            Whoops. Maybe not. Yahiko grinned puckishly and ran down the street.

^_^

            _Just once,_ Yahiko thought grumpily. _Just once, I wish they would understand what it's like. None of them know what it's like to be a kid around here. Not that I'm a kid. Maybe I'm not an adult yet, but I am _not_ a little child. Ayame and Suzume are kids. I can take care of myself. Why do they all think I'm just some helpless brat who has to be babied and ordered around all the time?!_

            Needless to say, Yahiko had been given a rough time by none other than Kamiya Kaoru when he had gotten back from his job at the Akabeko. Her shouting had likely been heard by the whole neighborhood. Although Kenshin had intervened--earning himself an earful as well--in a way, he had been just as bad. Yahiko hated being talked down to. Kenshin was nice to him, even fatherly, but sometimes he just wanted to be treated like one of the adults. And that was the one thing that never seemed to happen.

            "Yahiko?"

            Along with the sound of Kenshin's voice was a light tapping on his door. Yahiko muttered under his breath, then stopped, recalling that Kenshin had exceptional hearing. He did not need the rurouni hearing him cursing out the household.

            "Yahiko, can I come in?"

            "Sure, whatever," Yahiko replied sulkily.

            He flopped down on his futon as the shouji whispered open and shut again. Kenshin walked across the room and sat down next to the irritated boy.

            "What's bothering you today, Yahiko?" he asked, getting right to the point.

            "Nothing."

            "You've been cranky lately."

            "It's nothing."

            "Are you sure?"

            Yahiko glowered at the sheets of his futon, irritated by the man's persistence.

            "I'm sure, Kenshin," he growled.

            "So are you going to spend the rest of tonight in your room, sulking over nothing?" Kenshin asked softly.

            That brought Yahiko to a halt in his protest. He sighed. Of course, Kenshin was the hardest one to fool. Sanosuke was pretty perceptive himself, as was, he grudgingly admitted, Kaoru. But Kenshin always seemed to know what was going on. That annoyed Yahiko to no end.

            "I hate being the youngest around," he said finally. "No one knows what it's like."

            Kenshin was silent, waiting for the boy to continue. Yahiko did not disappoint.

            "You've even said I'm not a little kid, but you treat me just like a baby anyway!" Yahiko burst out, grateful to get this off his chest, although he would never admit that. "I can take care of myself. And I have a job, which is more than you can say."

            "Ouch," Kenshin smiled anxiously. Yahiko grinned--he couldn't help it.

            "I want to be the adult for once," he declared. "And I- I wish you all would be younger. Just to know how I feel. And maybe I can know what it's like to be the oldest."

            Yahiko sighed, glancing uncomfortably to the side. Kenshin smiled, shaking his head patiently.

            "Did it ever occur to you that we _do_ know what it's like, Yahiko?" he asked.

            "Huh?" Yahiko looked up in surprise.

            "Well, as incredible as it may seem, all of us were once your age," Kenshin said with a grin. "Sano's family was the Sekihoutai, and he very likely was the baby of the group. Kaoru-dono was probably the youngest one around this school when she grew up, and a girl as well. I, of course, grew under Hiko's tender, loving care," the rurouni grimaced in recollection. "We have all been the youngest, at one time or another, Yahiko."

            He stood up then, smiling cheerfully at the boy.

            "I have to go make dinner," he explained.

            "O-okay," Yahiko stammered, thinking about what the man had said. "Ano... Kenshin?"

            "Hmm?" Kenshin turned from the doorway.

            "Well, I was wondering, and you see..." Yahiko blushed, then sighed miserably. "How long will it take? Before you guys start treating me like an adult?"

            Kenshin smiled a bit wistfully at the question, and Yahiko wondered why.

            "Not long enough, Yahiko," he said gently. "Not nearly long enough."

            He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. Yahiko flopped back onto his futon, folding his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. Kenshin's words were not ignored, nor were they completely understood. In his mind, he could not grow up fast enough. Yet Kenshin was implying he should not want that. It didn't make sense at all.

            "He just wants to shut me up," he thought resentfully, even though he knew that was just an excuse to make himself feel better. Even so...

            "I still want to be the oldest," he muttered. "Kenshin can be the youngest for all I care, if he likes it that much."

            Still grumbling, Yahiko got up, heeding Kenshin's shout that dinner was ready. He barely spoke at all that evening, still angry at Kaoru and irritated with Kenshin. After dinner, he went straight to bed and fell asleep dreaming of how nice it would be to push Kaoru around for once.


	2. Wishes answered

Disclaimer: Yes, I don't own them.

**2. Wishes answered**

            At dawn, Kenshin opened his eyes in response to the light creeping across his room. He remained curled up on his side, staring at the thin line of yellow around the door for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet of the early morning. For a blissful moment, he cleared his mind of all worries and pretended that he was just the average man, waking up for an average day.

            Reality flooded back with the thought of all the laundry he had to do that morning, and he sighed softly, sitting up. Stretching his arms above his head, he smiled. Doing the laundry was something the average person would do--perhaps not men, but as a nonpaying boarder at the Kamiya dojo, he would not be picky over which chores he was asked to do.

            Climbing to his feet and moving to fold up his futon, he promptly tripped over his yukata and fell flat on his face.

            "Orooo..." he lifted his head and glanced toward his feet, wondering when he had gotten so clumsy. "Oro!"

            He couldn't see his feet. The yukata stretched down far below them, obscuring them from view. Well, that explained why he tripped over it. 

            "Wait a minute," Kenshin frowned. His yukata may have been a little larger on him than a typical yukata should fit, but certainly not that large. Just to hazard an estimate on the fit, he would place this yukata on someone almost twice his size. Even his hands would not reach the sleeve openings.

            _What kind of joke is this?_ he wondered. _The short jokes are all getting a little old now..._

            Gathering up the excess material awkwardly, he got back to his feet and looked down at his sakabatou. With his hands full with his clothing, he could not pick up the sword. Sighing in mild irritation--and intending to find out exactly who was behind this twisted little joke (no pun intended)--he walked over to where his clothes were neatly folded. Kicking away the huge yukata, he pulled on his gi--which was _not_ pink, thankyouverymuch (it was _magenta_).

            "_Oro!_"

            The shirt, which should have reached somewhere down to mid-thigh length, hung to his ankles. Again, his fingers just barely reached the sleeve opening.

            "What's with this?!" he blurted to the empty room.

            Deciding to get down to the bottom of this very quickly, Kenshin improvised with the yukata-sized gi by taking the sash from the yukata and using it to hold his gi closed around him. He looked ridiculous and knew it.

            Of the prank-playing people in his circle of friends, Kenshin would first guess Sanosuke to be the one behind his oversized clothing. However, Sanosuke was in his own apartment, across town, and Kenshin could not walk over there dressed as he was. That left Kaoru and Yahiko. As Kaoru would never do anything this bold--at least, Kenshin thought she wouldn't--he decided to approach the boy first.

            As he pensively considered all of this, his fingers closed over the hilt of his sakabatou. That shocked him out of his trance, and he looked down at his hand over the sword. His fingers barely went around the sheath, his hand looking ridiculously small against the sakabatou. 

            Now, he was beginning to worry. There was no way to mess with his sakabatou like that. And when he looked closer, his fingers did seem smaller than usual. He reached back and ran his fingers through his ponytail, alarmed when the hair stopped at only just below his shoulders. Quickly picking up his sakabatou, he found the weapon to be at least as tall as he was, if not a bit taller. And as he muttered another anxious 'oro,' he wondered how he had overlooked the raised timbre of his voice.

            Something was terribly wrong.

^_^

            Yahiko was having a pleasant dream. He was walking through the woods, with Tsubame, just holding her hand. She said something to him which he did not quite hear, but it made him smile nonetheless. Turning, he held both of her hands. Tsubame closed her eyes expectantly, and he leaned forward. She murmured his name-

            "Yahiko!"

            Wait a minute. That did not sound like Tsubame.

            "Yahiko, get up!"

            Grumbling unhappy complaints, Yahiko pried open his eyes. It was far too early, in his humble opinion. He blinked away the sleep and looked at who had woken him.

            ...It was someone he had never seen in his life. A child of perhaps six or seven knelt beside his futon, small hands against his shoulders, still shaking him lightly.

            "Hey, kid!" he sat up abruptly, making the poor child fall back on his bottom. Wide, blue-violet eyes stared up at him, and he scowled. "Where the heck did you come from?"

            "Yahiko-"

            "And how do you know my name?" he interrupted. He stood up and glared down at the boy--who, now that he looked closer, looked very much like a little girl. He decided that he did not care. He wanted this strange kid out of his room as of yesterday. "Look, kid, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you've got to get out of here. Busu'll wake up, and you don't want to be here when she does."

            "But-"

            "Nope," Yahiko caught the back of the kid's shirt and dragged him forward, to the door. "Where do you live? I'll take you home."

            "I live here, Yahiko," the child insisted. "That's the problem."

            "What are you trying to pull?" Yahiko demanded. "If you're trying to freeload off of Kaoru, forget it. She already complains about having to feed me an' Kenshin."

            "But _I'm_ Kenshin!"

            "Get off it, brat."

            "Yahiko."

            The soft growl brought the boy up short. He looked down at the child hanging by the back of his shirt. Beneath a fall of red bangs were narrow, blue eyes, glaring at him irately.

            _Come to think of it,_ Yahiko tilted his head and considered the kid. _He could easily pass as Kenshin's kid. He's got the hair and eyes to match._

            "Kenshin is a little bigger than you, kid," he smirked.

            "Imagine my surprise when I woke to find all my clothes no longer fit me," the boy growled. "Let go of me, Yahiko. We need to talk."

            "Are you serious?" Yahiko stared at the child incredulously, releasing the back of his shirt. The redheaded boy smoothed the magenta shirt primly, obviously more than a little miffed.

            "It's impossible, I know," the kid said. "Kaoru-dono looks to be in the same predicament. Yet you look the same as you always do. You don't know anything about this, do you?"

            "Are you serious?" Yahiko blurted again. He was grinning ear to ear. The child, who claimed to be Kenshin, frowned.

            "Yahiko, this isn't funny."

            "Are you kidding?" Yahiko chuckled. "This is hilarious! You look like you're six!"

            "Eight is probably closer," Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "Yahiko, we need to do something!"

            Yahiko was too busy trying to contain his laughter to pay any attention to Kenshin's words. The boy before him was, simply put, adorable. His shoulder-length, red hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Wide, violet eyes were set in a childish, delicate face--and no scar. The boy's little hand frequently brushed over his left cheek, proving he was just as perplexed by the lack of the major facial scars as Yahiko was. His feet were bare, and as they probably did not fit into Kenshin's sandals, that made perfect sense. And he was short. Really short. He was not all that much larger than Ayame, the elder of Dr. Gensai's two granddaughters, which was the main reason Yahiko originally miscalculated his age.

            "Yahiko!" the voice was a lot higher too. And by the way Kenshin said Yahiko's name, he was whining, much like the child he was.

            "This is too funny!" Yahiko snickered. He crouched down in front of Kenshin so that he looked up into the scrawny boy's pleading face. "Don't worry, Kenshin. We'll figure this out. But first..." Kenshin scowled, looking ready to launch himself into a tantrum. "Did you really look like that when you were eight?"

            "_Yahiko!_"

            "Sorry, sorry!" Yahiko laughed. He stood again. "I'll get dressed, and we'll wake busu and get this straightened out."

            Kenshin swatted at Yahiko's hand as the boy--now older than he--ruffled his hair on his way passed.

            "You make a cute kid, Kenshin," Yahiko commented.

            "I'm flattered," Kenshin deadpanned. "Now get dressed."

            "**_AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!_**"

            A girl's scream echoed through the dojo, making both Kenshin and Yahiko flinch. Kenshin sighed, looking cute with his lower lip pushed out in a pout.

            "I think Kaoru-dono is already awake."


	3. Check up

Disclaimer: I don't own them. It really is that simple.

Notes: Wow. I never expected such an enthusiastic response. Cool. I'm glad everyone likes it. I will post the next couple chapters. The fic is finished, actually, but I tend to feel a bit overwhelmed when multiple chapters are flooded onto the story, and then I miss reading a good fic.

This chapter should answer your questions about Sano and Megumi.

Abby: I am pleased my idea could inspire another interesting idea. I do not mind if you use aspects of my first chapter. I think you should make it your own rather than taking mine word for word. People might get confused and start thinking they're reading the same fic they already read.

**3. Check up**

            They made an unlikely group, one eleven-year-old boy and three young children. Yes, three. Sanosuke had shown up on their doorstep, a little shorter than Yahiko. He had not been happy about it either. His clothing had consisted of his white jacket, tied in much the manner Kenshin had used to wear his gi. With his big, brown eyes and spiky brown hair, he was awkward and cute.

            Once Kaoru and Sanosuke had been calmed, they set about to dressing properly. As Kaoru still had all her kimonos and practice clothing from when she had been a young girl, she provided the apparel. Kenshin and Sanosuke were both a bit wary of the girl's clothes, even if they were her practice gis and hakamas. But, as Yahiko pointed out, they had little choice in the matter. So Kenshin and Sanosuke changed into matching white gis and blue hakamas--the standard practice uniform of the students of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Kaoru wore one of her old kimonos.

            While Kaoru fit perfectly into her clothing, as well as Sanosuke, Kenshin was another matter. To the group's--minus Kenshin, of course--great amusement, he was smaller than any of them. Kaoru had admitted that her father had not allowed her to start training until she was eight, at which point she was taller than Kenshin was at this point. So her clothing was still to large for him. The hakama brushed the tops of his feet, nearly hiding them, while the sleeves of the gi covered all but his fingertips.

            "You're a tiny little thing!" Kaoru giggled, enjoying being taller than Kenshin for once.

            "I know I'm short," Kenshin grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest grumpily. "You don't have to rub it in my face."

            "And standing next to Hiko-san!" she continued. "You must have looked absolutely scrawny!"

            "I'm _still_ scrawny when up next to Shishou," he sighed. "Well, now, and yesterday."

            Kaoru giggled while Sanosuke grinned. Yahiko, of course, was thoroughly enjoying himself. He stepped in the midst of the group, dropping Kenshin's sakabatou into the small boy's hands, and hiding his snicker when Kenshin staggered.

            "Come on, you three," he called over his shoulder, heading down the road. "You wanted some help, and the only person I can think of who might know what to do is the doctor."

            "Oro! Yahiko!"

            "Hey!"

            "Wait up, brat!"

            Yahiko just grinned and continued at his pace. Kaoru, Kenshin, and Sanosuke all had to jog to keep up with him. Of the three, Kenshin looked particularly comical with the sword that was too big for him cradled in both of his arms. His smile broadening, Yahiko led the way to the clinic.

^_^

            "Astounding!" Megumi murmured, staring openly at the three small children sitting on a western-style cot before her. "Kaoru-chan? Ken-san? Sanosuke?"

            All three nodded sullenly. Megumi looked back and forth between each of them, her smile slowly growing.

            "Incredible!" she whispered.

            "Megumi-san!" Kaoru whined, her voice fitting perfectly with the size of her body. "What's wrong with us?!"

            Sanosuke nodded in emphasis to the little girl's tearful question. Megumi shook her head.

            "I don't know," she admitted. "I want to do a physical examination of each of you, and maybe that will help us pick out some possibilities. But medically speaking, this is not possible. People do not just regress overnight."

            "Overnight nothing!" Sanosuke growled. "People don't turn into little kids period!"

            "Let's get this started," Megumi went on, ignoring the boy Sanosuke's growling complaint. "Kaoru-chan, I'd like to start with you."

            "Okay."

            Megumi led Kaoru off into another room. It was a strange sight. Kaoru had always been shorter than Megumi, but now the top of her head just reached the woman's waist. 

            Kenshin and Sanosuke watched her leave, then looked at each other.

            "I don't want her examining me," Sanosuke declared.

            Kenshin smiled, making his youthful face look even more childish.

            "Damn, Kenshin!" Sanosuke laughed. "You could pass for five."

            "And that sounds very funny coming out of your mouth, Sano," Kenshin shook his head. "I'm tempted to rebuke you for using such harsh language."

            "Little boys don't use big words like 'rebuke' and 'harsh language,'" Sanosuke snickered. His voice was much higher than usual, as opposed to the rolling tenor it usually was.

            "I don't think she'll find anything with an examination," Kenshin agreed finally.

            "Why not?" Sanosuke asked, rather desperately. "She has to! I mean, she has to know how to fix it, right?"

            "Ummm... right," Kenshin sighed.

            All the while, his wide, violet eyes were focused on Yahiko, who was across the room, keeping Ayame and Suzume occupied. His eyes narrowed slightly.

            "Still..." he let his voice trail off, his eyes narrowing to slits that looked strange on his baby face.

            _I wish you all would be younger._

            Yahiko laughed with the two young girls, his laughter a bit tense, as if he was just trying to be nice to them. That was likely the case. Kenshin looked down into his lap, at the sword resting there.

            _...all would be younger._

            He ran his fingers over the sakabatou's saya, not even able to reach the hilt unless he moved the sword. And to move the sword would be to put himself off balance. To put himself off balance would send the sword crashing to the floor. That was unacceptable.

            _I wish..._

            His hands were too small to hold the sword properly. Not only that, but his muscles were not developed enough to wield anything with that kind of weight. He would be better off with a shinai. And he could not imagine spending the next few years of his life using a shinai--assuming they aged naturally again.

            _...be younger._

            Kenshin did not want to age again. Twenty years was a lot of time to make up. Puberty was not something he looked forward to repeating. Admittedly, he would not be living with Hiko again when it happened, which would save him from a lot of unnecessary embarrassment. But Sanosuke and Kaoru, no doubt, would be another source of torture. Strange how they were the same age again.

            _...younger._

            _I don't want to be eight again!_ he protested silently. _I don't want to be trapped in this child's body!_

            And he wondered if this was exactly what Yahiko had meant the previous night.

^_^

            "I just can't find anything wrong with any of you," Megumi said wearily. Much to Sanosuke's dismay, she physically lifted him from his spot on the bed and pushed him over far enough for her to sit down between him and Kenshin. Kaoru sat on the other side of Kenshin.

            "You're all perfectly healthy as far as the average child of eight goes," she declared. "Ken-san is a little small for his age, Sanosuke a little taller than average, but in general... you're all completely fit."

            "What should we do, Megumi-san?" Kaoru asked fearfully.

            "We can't walk around the streets like this," Kenshin added.

            "I recommend..." Megumi tapped her chin thoughtfully. She smiled. "I recommend that you just enjoy being children again until we figure this out. And Ken-chan-"

            "Now just a minute-" Kenshin scowled at the endearment.

            "-hand over the sakabatou," Megumi concluded, talking right over his irritated protest.

            "My sakabatou?" Kenshin hugged the sword closer to his chest. "Why?"

            "You can't walk around Tokyo with a sword that's too big for you to carry," Megumi pointed out. She easily wrestled the sakabatou free of Kenshin's tiny hands. "You'll get caught, and then you'll never get it back. I'll bring it back to the dojo tonight when I get off."

            Kenshin watched as she set the sheathed sword on a high, empty shelf over her head. He sighed. He would never reach that--at least, not without breaking half of what was on those shelves below it.

            "And get someone to take you to a tailor," Megumi smirked. "You look like a beggar child in those oversized rags."

            "Oro!"

            "Rags!" Kaoru seethed. "Megumi, I'll have you know those are mine!"

            "Yes, and you wore them almost to the point that they're falling apart," Megumi retorted. "Kaoru-chan, don't be so sensitive."

            "Who will pay?" Sanosuke wondered.

            "I'll give some money to Yahiko," Megumi explained. "He's the only one anyone will take money from. Now get out of here, you three imps. I have other patients to take care of."

            "Imps?!" Kaoru was outraged. Moving with casual indifference, Kenshin reached up and caught her ponytail before she could go running after the lady doctor. Kaoru almost pulled him off the bed.

            "Ack!" the little girl's head was jerked back painfully. "Kenshin!"

            "She's right, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin released her hair. "There's nothing else we can do. Until we find out exactly what's behind this, we're stuck."

            "I agree with Kenshin," Sanosuke piped up. "Let's just enjoy this while we can. Let's go get that brat, Yahiko. As much as I hate to admit it, we need him."

            "Sano," Kenshin smiled. "Yahiko is a responsible boy."

            "Whatever," Kaoru interrupted, stalking over to where Yahiko was still playing with Ayame and Suzume. "Yahiko!"

            Glancing at each other, Kenshin and Sanosuke just shrugged and followed her. They were quickly drawn into a game with Ayame and Suzume--the older of which, they discovered was only slightly shorter than Kenshin. It was a great source of amusement for the others and a source of embarrassment for Kenshin. Ayame and Suzume, who did not know that these three new playmates were indeed _their _Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke, had no idea why Kenshin being almost the same height as Ayame was so funny.


	4. To be a child

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. I envy the guy who does. I'd write it down, but I can't remember how to spell his name.

**4. To be a child**

            "Oh crap!" Yahiko blurted, halting in the middle of the road. Confused as to why the boy had stopped so suddenly, Kenshin, Kaoru, and Sanosuke paused and looked up at him.

            "What's wrong, Yahiko?" Kaoru asked, curiously having developed a noticeable lisp. "Why are you stopping?"

            "I'm supposed to work at the Akabeko tonight," Yahiko glared down at the three. "I can't leave you guys alone at the dojo."

            "We can take care of ourselves, brat," Sanosuke fisted his little hands and mocked a punch at Kenshin. The redheaded boy dodged the swing, and Sanosuke stumbled, nearly falling on his face. "I'm still Sagara Sanosuke, no matter how big I am."

            "Megumi-dono took my sakabatou," Kenshin said, a bit mournfully.

            "It's okay, Kenshin," Kaoru patted his shoulder gently. "You can use one of the shinais in the dojo."

            "It's not the same," Kenshin muttered, pouting.

            "For Kami's sake," Yahiko shook his head. "You idiots. Even if you remember how to fight, you can't. Look at yourselves!"

            "Who are you calling idiots, Yahiko?" Kaoru growled. "I'm still your assistant master, don't forget."

            "Whatever," Yahiko sighed. "You'll just have to come with me."

            "We'll be fine alone at the dojo!" Sanosuke protested again.

            "And if someone comes and picks you up?" Yahiko planted his hand on the chibi-version of Sanosuke's shoulder and gave him a solid shove. Sanosuke fell back on his butt, stunned to the core.

            "Hey!"

            "Yahiko is right, Sano," Kenshin stepped forward, sliding his hands under Sanosuke's arms and helping him to his feet. "We can't defend ourselves like this."

            "I hate it when the brat is right," Sanosuke grumbled, shoving Kenshin away. "I can get up by myself Kenshin. I'm not a little child."

            Everyone stared at him, his words and the image of him not matching. Sanosuke scowled and crossed his arms.

            "Not a word," he growled. "Not one word."

            Yahiko, Kenshin, and Kaoru laughed at his expense, then turned back toward town. Yahiko looked like a typical baby-sitter, with the three little kids around him. Kaoru skipped beside him in her little kimono, her ponytail swinging behind her. Kenshin, with a new gi and hakama--blue and white respectively--that actually fit, padded along behind them. Sanosuke, still sulking, caught up with Kenshin--the top of whose head yet only reached his shoulder--and walked beside the eight-year-old.

^_^

            Everyone agreed that the group's predicament should not become common knowledge. So the young trio adopted different names and a simple story to explain their background. And their story was put to the test when they reached the Akabeko.

            "Tae-san, this is Sano, Kaori, and Shinta," Yahiko explained. "They're visiting Gensai-sensei, and he asked if I would baby-sit. Is it okay if they stay here while I work for awhile?"

            "Sure!" Tae smiled brightly and bent forward, bracing her hands on her knees to look into the faces of the three children before her. "Kaori must be the pretty little girl, right?"

            Kaoru positively beamed under the compliments and nodded happily. Sanosuke muttered some derisive comment under his breath, and Kaoru promptly shoved her elbow deep into his stomach.

            "Ow!" the brown-haired child doubled over. "Kaoru--Kaori!"

            "Eh heh heh..." Yahiko grabbed their collars and held the two apart. "Sano and Kaori don't always get along."

            Sanosuke took a wild swing at Kaoru, missing entirely. Kaoru just stuck out her tongue.

            "So that's Sano," Tae giggled. She looked at Kenshin. "And this must be Shinta."

            Kenshin flinched at the name but nodded. Misinterpreting his recoil for nervousness, Tae smiled warmly.

            "It's okay, Shinta," she said gently. She held out her hand to him, and he stared at it uncertainly. "Would you like to help out in the kitchen?"

            For a long second, Kenshin just stared at her, unable to comprehend the way she babied him. At Yahiko's nod, he forced a smile and put his hand in Tae's noting that it was much smaller than the woman's. She straightened, drawing his hand up by his head. How strange that he had to look up so far to see her face! Kenshin did not like it.

            "Sano and Kaori can go out back and help or just play in the alley," she continued, dragging the young Kenshin along to the kitchen. "And you can get into your apron, Yahiko-kun, and help Tsubame-chan serve the guests."

            "Right!" Yahiko crouched down and glared at Kaoru and Sanosuke. "Behave yourselves. I don't want to get into trouble because of you."

            "Would we do that?" Sanosuke grinned, looking impishly mischievous.

            "Don't make a mess," Yahiko shoved the two toward the back.

            "Hey, stop pushing, Yahiko!" Kaoru protested.

            "Go!"

            Kaoru and Sanosuke scampered out the door, pausing only to wave at the wide-eyed Kenshin as he was pulled into the kitchen. He scowled at them, then yelped as Tae pulled him out of the way of the closing door.

            The evening went smoothly. Kaoru and Sanosuke milked the child act for all it was worth, generally being a nuisance and having fun. They chased each other around the alley and played hide-and-seek amidst the stored items. Usually, the game consisted of them hiding, then scaring whichever hapless adult passed their way.

            Kenshin felt a bit ridiculous, being spoken to like he would not understand if big words were used. He found himself following the cook around, standing on a stool to stir bowls of soup. The kitchen staff was charmed by the wide-eyed little boy who was far too serious for his own good--at least, so they thought. So Kenshin was frequently the victim of tickling fingers and hands ruffling his hair.

            Yahiko was just pleased that he did not have to baby-sit. He slipped into his role of polite server easily, and quickly forgot about the three children. He forgot, that is, until he heard Tsubame's startled scream from the back; Kaoru and Sanosuke had managed to scare her. Not an hour later, there was a mild commotion from the kitchen, where someone had handed Kenshin a rice bowl that was too big for him. He spent twenty minutes sweeping up spilled rice.

^_^

            The day ended, and Yahiko took the three child-sized adults back to the dojo. Kaoru and Sanosuke frequently collapsed into giggles as they watched Kenshin--still picking rice out of his clothing and hair.

            Kaoru's ponytail was messy, long strands of black hair falling around her face. Her obi was askew, and her face was flushed with good humor. Sanosuke's spiky hair looked the same, but it was always so messy that one could never tell anyway. He still wore his red bandanna, the tails dangling far down his back. He grinned and tackled Kenshin, easily knocking the smaller boy down.

            "Oof!" Kenshin met dirt, and he scrambled to get away, but the larger boy easily pinned him in place. "Sano!"

            "It's so easy to pick on you now, Kenshin!" Sanosuke giggled again, his big brown eyes glittering in amusement.

            "You're bigger!" Kenshin whined. "Get off!"

            "Do I have to carry you guys home?" Yahiko interrupted, pulling Sanosuke off the tiny Kenshin. "Can't you behave for even a minute?"

            "He started it!" the words popped forth from Kenshin's mouth, and he blushed furiously, feeling like the child he was. 

            "For Kami's sake!" Yahiko reached down and hefted Kenshin up, off the ground entirely. A second later, Kenshin was under his arm, held like so many burdens. For a few seconds, as Yahiko walked along the path to the dojo, Kaoru and Sanosuke just followed him in silence, Kenshin blinking incomprehensibly. 

            Kaoru and Sanosuke burst out laughing. Kenshin gritted his teeth and glowered at them and shouted:

            "Yahiko!"

            "Shut up, Kenshin," Yahiko sighed. Kaoru and Sanosuke giggled, and he glared at them. "You guys too. We're going back to the dojo, and you're all going to bed."

            So they traveled in silence the rest of the distance back to the dojo. Yahiko set out a spare futon in Kenshin's room for Sanosuke while Kaoru changed into her night yukata in her own room. He then went to his room and changed for bed. Extremely weary from the excitement of the day, Yahiko collapsed onto his futon and rolled onto his back, closing his eyes with a happy sigh.

            "How does it feel, Yahiko?"

            He groaned, opening his eyes to see Kenshin sitting on the floor beside his futon, gazing at him solemnly with those big, purple eyes of his. It was ridiculously cute.

            "It's late, Kenshin," he protested. "Go to bed."

            "I was just thinking about the conversation we had last night," Kenshin continued, oblivious to Yahiko's complaints. "Before all this happened. And what you said..."

            "What was so important about what I said?" Yahiko grumbled.

            "You said that you wished we were younger," Kenshin reminded him. "And here we are... younger."

            "You think _I_ caused this?!" Yahiko glared into shining, violet eyes. "That's stupid. It's impossible."

            "So is all of this," Kenshin pointed out. "But I did some thinking today, and I don't like this at all. In one night, I have lost twenty years of my life. Hell, I'm prepubescent again!"

            "Not that puberty changed you that much," Yahiko noted with a grin.

            "Not funny, Yahiko," Kenshin muttered.

            "What do you expect me to do?!" the boy demanded. And as an afterthought, he added, "You should watch that language while you're so small, Kenshin."

            Kenshin cursed again, a bit more colorfully. He slouched down and propped his chin up in his hands, elbows braced on his knees.

            "You're the one who wanted to be the adult, Yahiko," he said after a moment. "Now you're the closest thing to an adult we have around here."

            Yahiko was quiet for awhile, thinking about that. For a long time, he stared at Kenshin, so much smaller than he was. Then, shaking his head, he sighed and stood up.

            "I'll think about it, Kenshin," he said tiredly. "For now, you have to go to bed."

            Kenshin smiled in mild amusement. He blinked as he found himself swept off the ground and propped up on Yahiko's hip. It was something he had done frequently with Ayame and Suzume.

            "Oro?" he murmured.

            "It's late, I'm tired, and you're a growing boy now," Yahiko carried him back to his room. The eleven-year-old dropped him onto his futon and arranged the covers around him. Kenshin stared up at him incredulously, keeping quiet, lest he wake Sanosuke. The child Sanosuke would never let him live it down.

            "Good night, Kenshin," Yahiko murmured.

            Sleep already dragging down his eyelids, Kenshin sighed.

            "Good night, Yahiko."


	5. Adulthood

Disclaimer: I'm going to have to make a standard one of these things. I'm getting tired of writing this every time. I don't own anything involved with Rurouni Kenshin. Check. The only thing that is mine is the idea for this fic and I'm sure it's not even entirely original. So there too. Nyah!

Notes: Oooh, all these reviews make me feel so special. It's been what… three days since I updated this sucker. My neice is in town. Three years old. Ironic, is it not? Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you like.

**5. Adulthood**

            "'Niisan! 'Niisan! Wake up, Yahiko-niisan!"

            Muttering complaints all the while, Yahiko blinked his eyes open. He frowned.

            _'Niisan?_

            He looked into Kaoru's impish little face. His unspoken question was still unanswered. Why was Kaoru calling him brother? She smiled brightly.

            "What's for breakfast, 'niisan?"

            "Huh?" he murmured sleepily.

            "Food! Breakfast! We're hungry, 'niisan!" she insisted childishly.

            "Enough with the baby act, busu," Yahiko pushed her away and threw back his covers.

            A sniffle reached his ears, and he paused in the act of folding up his futon. He glanced down at Kaoru's baby face. She was sitting on the floor, her eyes wide and rapidly filling with tears. She sniffled again.

            _Oh no,_ he thought in growing horror. _She's going to-_

            "No, Kaoru," he dropped the blankets. "I didn't mean it! Don't c-"

            "_WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!_"

            "-cry," he mumbled. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the bawling girl. "Kaoru, I didn't mean to push you down. Stop crying."

            "Y-you c-c-called m-be b-b-b-busuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" she wailed.

            "You're not ugly either!" he insisted desperately. "You're cute even! Adorable!"

            She sniffled, her tears dissolving away as if they had never been.

            "Really?" she asked hesitantly.

            "Yep," Yahiko smiled widely. He tapped her nose. "Now go get Kenshin and Sanosuke while I change."

            She smiled cheerfully and flounced out of the room. Staring after her, Yahiko wondered what had just happened. Usually Kaoru got angry when he called her busu. She did not cry. And she was a terrible actress. She couldn't lie to save her life. So he wondered... _why is she acting like such a child?_

^_^

            The day only got worse. Kenshin and Sanosuke had surprised Yahiko by acting almost as childish as Kaoru. 

            Sanosuke was, surprisingly, easy to handle. He acted like the typical, rambunctious child, poking fun at Kaoru and trying to draw Kenshin into his games. Yet, he rarely gave Yahiko problems, acting sheepish when the boy caught him in the act of doing something he shouldn't be doing.

            Kaoru was more difficult than Sanosuke. Quick to cry, then quick to forget and smile, she was full of ups and downs. She was also far more disobedient than Sanosuke. Unlike the brown-haired boy, she would push Yahiko's patience to the limit with her disobedience.

            Of the three, Kenshin was the most difficult to predict. He was so quiet that Yahiko had prematurely assumed that he would not be a problem. Yet, that silence was what caused the problems. Kenshin would be gone for several minutes before anyone noticed, and then Yahiko would spend as much as two hours, searching for him.

            Then, there was the problem of two of the children ganging up on the third. As Kaoru and Sanosuke were the dominant personalities of the bunch, Kenshin usually received the brunt of the teasing. But, unlike Kaoru, Kenshin took the teasing rather well--quietly in any rate. It was not until Yahiko discovered the pattern of Kenshin's disappearances directly coincided with some particularly nasty harassment that he put a stop to it.

            As he washed the laundry with Kenshin's help--having told Kaoru and Sanosuke that they had to play without him--he wondered if Kenshin had been this antisocial when he really was eight... or six... maybe five. They all looked younger than they had the previous day. If so, he pitied the man... boy. But more than that, he was annoyed that Kaoru and Sanosuke had picked on him to the point of driving him into hiding.

            Lifting a sheet out of the water, he snapped the remaining soap away.

            _Finally,_ he breathed in the clean scent of the sheet. That was one way Sanosuke and Kaoru had managed to bother Kenshin so much. This particular sheet was his, and he had wet the bed the night before. The poor boy had been in tears, apologizing profusely to Yahiko when the young man had found out. Yahiko, a bit put out by this, had managed to calm Kenshin and assure him that it was all right.

            _I never would have pegged Kenshin for the bed-wetting type,_ he thought absently. He grinned inwardly at the memory of the wide, tear-filled violet eyes, almost hidden beneath that fall of unruly red hair, the mortified flush of crimson across his cheeks, and the anxious wringing of his hands. It was as unlike the Kenshin he knew as he had ever seen him.

            "Yahiko-san?" Kenshin's high voice interrupted his thoughts.

            "What is it?" Yahiko asked, maintaining the facade that he was irritated at having to do the laundry. He couldn't very well tell Kenshin to do it. The boy would never be able to reach the lines.

            Kenshin stared at his hands timidly. His eyes were impossibly wide.

            "Ano..." he stammered. "There's someone at the gate, Yahiko-san."

            "There's what?!" Yahiko whirled, splashing water over the boy beside him. Kenshin sputtered and wiped the water from his face. A relieved sigh exploded from Yahiko's lips. "Megumi-san!"

            "You look a bit frazzled, Yahiko," Megumi said with her sly smile. She wove her way across the yard, skillfully avoiding the young girl and boy chasing around her legs, and knelt beside Yahiko. She smiled at Kenshin, reaching out to tap his nose lightly. "How are our young friends doing?"

            "Fine," Yahiko glanced at Kenshin. Those dusky, purple eyes swept back and forth between him and Megumi as they spoke. Some instinct warned him not to speak openly in front of the young children. "Go see if you can find the cat, Kenshin."

            "Do you need-"

            "Just go find it!" Yahiko interrupted, earning a startled blink from Kenshin. "And take your time."

            Kenshin's chin trembled slightly, his eyes widening, but he did not cry. He climbed to his feet and walked away calmly. Yahiko sighed, rubbing a damp hand across his face, and looked at Megumi unhappily.

            "They're like little kids now, Megumi-san!" he explained anxiously. "Kaoru called me oniisan this morning, and she cries at a glance. Sanosuke is okay, but when he's around Kaoru, they pick on Kenshin. And Kenshin wet the bed last night. He friggin' wet the bed! I mean, he was _crying_ over it this morning, muttering something about a bad dream!"

            "Calm down, Yahiko," Megumi tittered at the thought of Kenshin's bed-wetting accident. "Obviously, they're regressing. I noticed that the instant I saw Kaoru and Sanosuke running around here like wild animals."

            "What do we do?!"

            "We wait," Megumi shrugged. "And considering the situation, I believe it may be better that I take the sword with me."

            She indicated the sakabatou she had carried with her across town, wrapped in a blanket. Yahiko nodded in agreement, then backpedaled to the words before that.

            "What do you _mean_ wait?" he demanded. "I don't want to baby-sit them all day!"

            "You'll have to-"

            "And I have to work at the Akabeko tomorrow morning!" he persisted. "I can't bring them along when they're so unmanageable. I'll be fired!"

            "Tae-san won't fire you," Megumi smiled warmly. "You can bring them to the clinic, and I'll keep them busy while you're at work."

            "Yahiko-san, I found the cat!"

            Megumi and Yahiko looked up to see Kenshin awkwardly carrying a cat in his arms. The boy was hesitant in approaching the two, but then rushed forward and held out the animal.

            "Here."

            "You're too fast, Kenshin," Yahiko grumbled, plucking the cat from Kenshin's hands and shoving the animal away. The cat scurried across the yard and up a tree. Kenshin watched with wide, uncomprehending eyes. Yahiko scowled. "I'm talking. Go...go do something."

            Kenshin's eyes went wider still, but not with innocent shock. His eyes narrowed, blazing with undisguised resentment and fury. Fisting his little hands, he turned on his heel and walked away, not quite stomping his feet. When Kaoru and Sanosuke approached him, he yelled wordlessly at them, startling the two, before disappearing into the dojo.

            Megumi and Yahiko watched the entire thing, astounded at Kenshin's mild but obvious temper tantrum.

            "Perhaps I should explain some things about children to you, Yahiko," Megumi said finally.

            Yahiko groaned and buried his face in his hands.

^_^

            "Sanosuke! Don't touch that!"

            "Kaoru! Don't go over there!"

            "Kenshin, come out of your room!"

            "Don't even think about it, Kaoru."

            "Sano! Kaoru! Leave Kenshin alone!"  
            "No pulling the cat's tail!"

            "No-!"

            "Wait-!"

            "Ack!"

            "_GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!_"

^_^

            Somehow, Yahiko managed to get dinner served. Admittedly, it was not very good. Kenshin's cooking was far better. But he was proud to say that his cooking still surpassed Kaoru's attempts at it. Of course, all he made was rice and some rather flavorless soup. As long as it got everyone fed, he did not care.

            "Sit. Eat," he ordered, setting the bowls and trays out.

            "I'm not hungry," Kaoru whined.

            "Yes, you are," Yahiko dropped a bowl of rice into her hands. "You just don't know it yet- Oi!" he jabbed his chopsticks into Sanosuke's little face. "I know what you're planning with that soup, so don't even think about it."

            Sanosuke grinned and began an elaborate manner of eating his soup. As usual, Kenshin was quiet, glaring over his soup at everyone. Kaoru glared back at him, not liking that the boy was looking at her with such hostile eyes.

            "Yahiko-niisan, Kenshin won't stop staring at me!" she snapped unhappily.

            Kenshin averted his eyes, just before Yahiko looked at him. The eleven-year-old baby-sitter snorted impatiently.

            "Well, he's not staring at you now, is he?" he put some soup in front of her. "Stop whining and eat."

            "You're mean, 'niisan!"

            "'Niisan's just annoyed 'cause you're such a brat, Kaoru," Sanosuke said brightly.

            "Yahiko-niisan!!" Kaoru wailed, tears flooding to her eyes.

            "Be nice, Sanosuke," Yahiko said automatically. "And don't listen to him, Kaoru. You're... you're not a brat."

            He had to choke on his tongue to spit that one out. When the girl turned wide, tear-filled eyes to him, he even managed to smile.

            "Now eat dinner, please?" he asked a bit desperately.

            "Okay!" she smiled, the perfect angel, and started shoveling rice into her mouth.

            Sighing softly, Yahiko settled down to eat his own food. What he would not give to just throw his dishes up into the air and go bursting from the dojo, screaming that someone else could take care of the three. If he had to do this much longer, he might actually do that, he decided. 

            Contrary to his inner frenzied turmoil, he was outwardly calm, eating much slower than usual. He reached out without thinking to prevent Sanosuke from 'accidentally' spilling his soup into Kaoru's lap. When Kaoru tried to sneak away without helping with the dishes, he grabbed her ponytail and made her sit back down. And he glanced frequently to Kenshin, a bit anxious at that cold expression on such a young face.

            _Any time now,_ he thought uneasily, _and something really bad is going to happen._

            But the rest of the evening went smoothly. Kenshin retreated to his room again, and Kaoru and Sanosuke actually played nice together. The sun started to set, and the children started yawning. With great relief, Yahiko led Kaoru to her room, made sure she was okay for the night, and turned to take Sanosuke to his shared room with Kenshin.

            "Yahiko-niisan?"

            Glancing over his shoulder, Yahiko looked to see Kaoru holding her night yukata--still the one that grown-up Kaoru usually wore--and looking at him with a little smile on her face.

            "I love you, Yahiko-niisan."

            He blinked. A warm flush settled across his cheeks, and he nodded silently, unable to speak around the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

            "G-good night, Kaoru," he said hoarsely.

            "Good-night."

            He closed the door, and brought Sanosuke to his room. The tall eight-year-old did not give him the same, cute treatment Kaoru had given him. But he smiled and sleepily murmured 'oyasumi' to him as his eyes drifted shut. 

            Yahiko turned and looked around. He had already noticed that Kenshin was not in the room, but he had a good idea of where the boy was hiding.

            A few minutes later, Yahiko peeked over the top of the roof. Sure enough, there was Kenshin, looking small and vulnerable as he stared up at the emerging stars. Moving quietly, so as not to disturb the boy's meditation, Yahiko sat beside him. They sat together for several minutes, not saying a word, just staring up at the inky sky.

            "Yahiko-san?" Kenshin's voice was so soft that Yahiko barely heard it.

            "Hmm?"

            "Do you hate me?"

            Yahiko blinked, looking down at Kenshin in alarm.

            "No!" he blurted. "What would make you think that?!"

            "Everyone else hates me," Kenshin murmured, looking down at his knee, drawn up to his chest.

            "No one hates you, Kenshin," Yahiko insisted. "Kaoru and Sanosuke are just playing. They don't know they're hurting your feelings."

            "Oh," Kenshin sighed and looked up again, still avoiding Yahiko's gaze. "Yahiko-san?"

            "What is it, Kenshin?"

            "I wish you were my real big brother."

            For the second time that night, Yahiko found himself with tears in his eyes. Impulsively, he hooked his arms around Kenshin and dragged the little boy into his lap, hugging him tightly. Startled by the move, Kenshin was still for a few seconds. Then, he hesitantly wrapped his short arms around Yahiko's back and returned the hug.

            _Me too, Kenshin,_ Yahiko thought tearfully. _Even as a little child, you're so much wiser than me._

            Standing with Kenshin still caught up in his arms, Yahiko made his way to the edge of the roof.

            "It's time for bed, Kenshin," he said gently. "I want you to get some sleep now, okay?"

            "Okay," Kenshin climbed down easily, followed by Yahiko--not so easily. Kenshin waited on the ground for him. Taking the older boy's hand, he walked with Yahiko to his room. When they were outside the door, Kenshin tugged on Yahiko's hand, and the older boy crouched down to be at eye level with him. 

            "I'll be real good tomorrow, Yahiko-san," he said solemnly. "At Megumi-san's."

            "You heard that?" Yahiko smirked. "You've still got great hearing, Kenshin... that you do."

            "Huh?" Kenshin blinked cutely, then smiled. "Oyasumi nasai, Yahiko-san."

            "Oyasumi, Kenshin," Yahiko ruffled the boy's hair. "Now go to bed."

            "Hai!"

            Smiling to himself, Yahiko went to his own bed.

^_^

            Yahiko was deep in blissful slumber when he felt that something was not quite right. Slowly drawing himself out of sleep and into the real world, he cracked an eye open.

            _Now, what's not right here?_ he wondered groggily.

            Something shifted against his side, and he frowned, glancing down. What he saw there brought an amused smile to his face. Kenshin, who he had not left that long ago, was curled up on the futon against his side.

            And not only Kenshin. Sanosuke was sprawled over the smaller boy, his head and arms on Yahiko's side. As he was so much smaller than Yahiko, the older boy did not mind. Strangely, Kenshin did not seem to notice, as he was sleeping soundly.

            A soft snore beside him made Yahiko blink. All three of them were in his bed! Kaoru was pressed against the side opposite to Kenshin and Sanosuke. Yahiko fought the urge to laugh. Smirking to himself, he settled back down and closed his eyes again. He would kick them out later. For now, they were too cute and helpless-looking to disturb.

            Sighing softly, Yahiko dropped back into dreamless slumber.


	6. Lessons learned

Disclaimer: Do I have to write this for every single chapter? Hum. Don't own 'em. I own a little Kenshin figure that looks too serious for his own good. Scowl at the world, why don't you Kenshin? Really, the whole world isn't against you… only a great portion of it.

Notes: Well, here we are. The last chapter. And it's pretty danged short. No, Kenshin, sit down. I'm not talking about you. Anyway, thank you for the great reviews. I had so much fun writing this. I usually don't do 'sappy.' But this one… well, it worked. And as they say in the biz: Who da heck took my coffee?!

Yahiko is very grateful for the end of this fic.

Fitzy-fitz

**6. Lessons learned**

            Kenshin woke feeling very uncomfortable--and smothered. Something very big and very heavy was on top of him. It almost reminded him of that night he spent trying to keep Yahiko on his own futon as opposed to using him as a bed. But this was much larger than Yahiko. Much larger, and much heavier. And there was hair in his face. He usually kept his hair pulled back at night, so he wondered how so much of it had gotten in his face. Crinkling his nose in displeasure, he blew on it to no avail.

            "Oro," he grumbled, unable to move at all.

            He opened his eyes... and froze. Black hair in his face. Of course, only one person in the Kamiya household had hair of that particular color. It certainly was not his. Yet, even if Kaoru's hair was in his face, that did not explain the dead weight on his back. She was in front of him, thank the gods, not _on_ him. Besides, whatever was on his back was much heavier than Kaoru was. Craning his neck, he tried to see what was keeping him pressed face down onto the futon. 

            _Sano?!_ He nearly shouted aloud in his shock. Somehow, he managed to keep his mouth shut. However, he did notice that Sanosuke and Kaoru were both back to their normal sizes. That was good, but it still did not explain how they had all gotten into one bed.

            "Hn, don't call me chan."

            That mumbled comment came from near his side, between him and Kaoru. Glancing down, Kenshin saw Yahiko squished between them. Well, that made him feel somewhat better. But not much.

            "Ano..." he gasped, deciding he could not tolerate Sanosuke's weight any longer. "Sano...Wake up."

            His voice was a bit strangled from being crushed beneath the very person he was trying to wake. Sanosuke did not hear him. 

            "Sano!" Kenshin protested, as Sanosuke shifted to put even more weight on his back. "Sano, wake up!"

            "Mmm," Kaoru shifted beside him. Kenshin groaned. He had hoped to avoid waking the girl before he could sneak out. Blue eyes slid open, slowly focusing on Kenshin's wide, violet ones. "Kenshin?"

            "Um... Ohayo, Kaoru-dono," he said nervously.

            "What are you doing in my bed?" she seemed very calm. It just made Kenshin all the more nervous.

            "Actually," he choked, grunting softly when Sanosuke moved again. "I don't think this is your bed."

            "Is that Sanosuke on your back?"

            "Apparently so," he moaned. "Can you wake him up? He's heavy."

            Sitting up slowly, modestly clasping her yukata at her neck, Kaoru glared down at the snoring man. Sanosuke was more off the futon than on, a good portion of his upper body resting on Kenshin's back. Even worse, he was barely decent, the yukata he had been wearing torn and in several pieces. Kaoru blushed to the very roots of her hair. Kenshin frowned, twisting his neck to see her better and wondering why she was blushing so furiously.

            "Uhhh... Kenshin, get Yahiko to wake him," Kaoru said uneasily, climbing cautiously to her feet, automatically checking herself to make sure she was more covered than Sanosuke was. She was. "And get him something to wear before he comes running out into the rest of the house."

            That said, she darted out of the room, snapping the door shut behind her with a loud 'clack.' Kenshin winced, the flushed, realizing what she was saying.

            "Yahiko!" he nudged the boy. "Yahiko, get up!"

            "Mmf-huh?" Yahiko startled away. "Ack!"

            Yahiko shot out of his bed, staring at Kenshin and Sanosuke with wide eyes. Kenshin buried his face in his arms, which were starting to go numb from being stretched out in front of him for so long. Then, Yahiko started laughing. Kenshin wanted to hide. Sanosuke shifted again, jabbing an elbow into his side--there would be plenty of bruising from that--and waking up.

            "Oi!" Sanosuke jumped off the bed, sputtering and blushing. "Kenshin! You're- I'm- and in bed...!"

            Yahiko doubled over, laughing too hard to be of any help whatsoever. Kenshin, just relieved to have Sanosuke off his back, cautiously rose to his feet. He brought a sheet with him and, keeping his eyes averted nervously, held it out to Sanosuke. Confused at first, Sanosuke glanced at the sheet, the raucously laughing Yahiko, then down at himself. Unlike Kenshin and Kaoru, he had not had his own yukata to sleep in. He had thus borrowed one from Kaoru--when he was the size of an eight-year-old. Now that he was larger again, there was no way her yukata would ever fit him.

            Blushes all around. Mortified at his apparel--or lack thereof--Sanosuke snatched the blanket away from Kenshin and quickly wrapped it around his waist. Yahiko fell over, still laughing. Kenshin, utterly calm, even if he _was_ blushing uncontrollably, walked to the door.

            "I will find something for you to wear, Sano," he murmured self-consciously.

            "Uh... thanks, Kenshin," Sanosuke stammered.

            The door closed, leaving Sanosuke alone with the still-snickering Yahiko.

            "Chikuso! Shut up, brat!" he snapped, smacking the boy as he walked by.

^_^

            Yahiko sat eating the breakfast Kenshin had made. Everything seemed to be back to normal. Kenshin was a bit more quiet than usual, overly polite to Kaoru, Sanosuke, and yes, even Yahiko himself. Kaoru was loud and quick to yell at Sanosuke, scolding him for almost ruining her innocence. And Sanosuke quickly retreated from the dojo, still embarrassed about that morning.

            "Well, I'm glad you're all back to normal," Yahiko declared, trying to break the tension in the room.

            Kenshin and Kaoru glanced at him, curiosity in their eyes. Neither one of them remembered anything from the day before, and they were both too uncomfortable with asking to be the one to actually do it.

            "If you guys were actually like that when you were that age, I pity your parents!" Yahiko smirked.

            Neither Kaoru nor Kenshin chose to burst Yahiko's bubble by reminding him that Kaoru's mother had been dead by that point, both of Kenshin's parents passed on as well. They just glanced at each other, then at Yahiko again.

            "I can't imagine we were that horrible," Kaoru said finally.

            "You were impossible!" Yahiko burst out, finally able to vent back on the sources of his vexation. "A brat even! And _Kenshin!_"

            "Kenshin?" Kaoru smiled a bit, glancing at the man. Kenshin blushed and looked down at his hands.

            "You and Sanosuke kept picking on him to no end!" Yahiko complained. "I had to keep him with me all day, or you guys would drive him into hiding!"

            Kenshin's blush deepened, and Kaoru laughed.

            "Oh, poor widdle Kenshin!" she teased.

            Kenshin smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He reached for his empty dishes abruptly.

            "I'll go do the dishes now," he stated, standing up.

            "I'm going to bathe," Kaoru announced, retreating from the room.

            Yahiko smirked.

            "So, Kenshin," he followed the man into the yard. "Do you miss being a little kid?"

            "A little," Kenshin smiled, stacking the dirty dishes beside the wash pail. "But I'm glad to be myself again. How about you? Did you enjoy being the adult for the day?"

            "Not with you three!" Yahiko declared. "Do you remember anything from yesterday?"

            "No."

            "Not even-" Yahiko leaned forward suddenly, whispering the rest into Kenshin's ear.

            Kenshin's eyes went wide, his cheeks flaming red. He jerked back, glaring at Yahiko.

            "I did _not!_" he blurted.

            "I'm the one who did the laundry, Kenshin," Yahiko smirked. "Trust me. You did."

            Muttering curses under his breath, Kenshin turned his attention to the dishes. He could not contain the flush that reddened his cheeks. Yahiko grinned.

            "Don't worry, Kenshin," he snickered. "I won't tell anyone."

            "That's blackmail, Yahiko!" Kenshin smiled knowingly, back on safe grounds. "And should I tell Tsubame-chan about your little _friendship_ with Marimo-chan?"

            Yahiko's cheeks went red, and he sputtered.

            "Or maybe I could tell Kaoru-dono about all those times you said you were practicing but were really out fishing with Sano?" Kenshin's eyes glittered with amusement at Yahiko's indignation. "Or I could tell Tae-dono about how you and Tsubame-"

            "_Kenshin!_"

            Kenshin laughed, tensing slightly as Yahiko grabbed a fistful of hair and shirt. 

            "You can't outmaneuver me, Yahiko-kun," Kenshin poked the boy's sides, tickling him until Yahiko released his hair and gi. "I'll keep your secrets if you keep mine."

            "Grrrrr, fine!" Yahiko crossed his arms irately.

            "Don't you have to work at the Akabeko today?"

            "Ack!" Yahiko became a flurry of movement, scooping up his shinai and bolting for the door. "'Later, Kenshin!"

            "Ne, Yahiko!" Kenshin called out, halting him momentarily.

            "Huh?" Yahiko looked back. Kenshin's eyes and smile softened.

            "You make a very good big brother," he said warmly.

            Blushing in embarrassment, Yahiko waved him off, bolting away.

            "I never want to be the oldest again!" he shouted.

            Kenshin laughed and turned back to the dishes.

THE END

Yahiko: WAHOOOOOO! I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Mean old author.

Fitz: Who you calling old?

Kenshin: *muttermutter* Wet the bed. *muttermutter*

Kaoru: I'm a brat!

Sano: Darn right.

Kaoru: *Hits Sano*

Sano: Itai…

The End


End file.
